What Do You Know?

It’s not hard these days to explore new ideas, check out the latest statistics or see examples of what’s working in fundraising. There is a wealth of information, and fundraisers are most often very generous in sharing their knowledge. Degrees or certificates in fundraising are offered at many schools, and conferences proliferate. In fact, it sometimes seems that the only things that are in short supply are time and money for training.

This article isn’t going to tell you what you should and should not spend time on in terms of furthering your education. After all, each of us has unique strengths and weaknesses, not to mention preferred learning styles. But there are some broad areas that you should pay attention to if you’re serious about being the best fundraiser you can be. Many are low-cost or even free, so budget is not a barrier. And there’s no time like January to decide to develop a few (and good) new habits to help advance your career.

What’s working?
Adapting what is working for another organization is not a surefire way to make all your fundraising projects succeed. After all, missions are different, constituents are different and your organizational “tone” may be different. But these differences are no reason to ignore what is working for others.

Read articles, attend webinars and grab any opportunity you see focusing on what is succeeding at other nonprofits. Why? Your own ideas will be challenged, and you may learn a new way to raise more. You probably won’t get any idea that you can use verbatim, but you may see some adjustments you can make that will help improve your fundraising results.

What’s in the mail?
Before the day is out, choose four nonprofits and send each one a donation of $25. Choose two with missions similar to yours, one national one that is a prolific mailer and a fourth one that you’ve heard good things about.